Transportation projects involving I-83, I-283 ready to kick off

A $5.6 million project to patch concrete and pave Interstate 283 from the Pennsylvania Turnpike to the Interstate 83/U.S. 322 Eisenhower Interchange will start on April 27, weather permitting.

The project is the first step to beginning a long list of improvements to I-83, according to a news release.

Plans were detailed Wednesday by state Department of Transportation Secretary Barry Schoch in a news conference, where he was joined by legislators and state and local officials.

"We've had plans to improve the I-83 corridor for a decade, but they were collecting dust because we simply could not pay for the work," Schoch said. This and other projects are made possible by the state's comprehensive transportation plan, Act 89, passed last year, he said.

The transportation plan will result in roughly $800 million worth of I-83 corridor projects over the next 10 years, the release states, including:

--widening and reconstructing of I-83 between Union Deposit Road and I-81;

--redesigning and reconstructing of the Eisenhower Interchange; and

--widening I-83 between the Eisenhower Interchange and the John Harris Memorial Bridge over the Susquehanna River.

Also this year, PennDOT will invest an additional $200 million in highway and bridge projects in the eight-county region.

Work on the I-283 paving project will take place from 9 p.m. to 6 a.m. and include occasional short-term lane closures, with ramp work also conducted at those times and using short-term detours. The project, awarded to Pennsy Supply of Annville, is estimated for completion by May 2015.